A question about the "down side" of hypnosis, why it is not used as much as it should be and how to find a hypnotist.

Answered by Calvin D. Banyan, MA, CI, BCH

Question:

Answer:

Hello Don,

Thanks for the email and your questions.

One of the best ways to locate a hypnotist near you is to contact the National Guild of Hypnotists. They have over 6000 members. I'm sure they can refer you to a qualified practitioner in your area. (Click here for a link to the NGH.) We also have a directory of 5-PATH® and 7th Path™ Certified Hypnotists on our web site. Check it out and see if you can find one near you. Click here.

There a few reasons that hypnosis is not as wide spread as it will be in the future (I believe).

Here are some that come to mind:

1. Most hypnotists are using outdated and unreliable hypnotic techniques and are not as effective as they can and should be. For example, only using progressive relaxation inductions, not testing for depth of hypnosis and relying too heavily on visualization techniques.

2. Most training programs do not give their students enough time to practice and gain some experience with the techniques during the program and so upon completion they not confident enough to practice and usually never get started.

3. Mainstream medical and mental health practitioners are not aware of the usefulness of hypnosis so they don't use hypnosis in their practices and are unaware that they can make referrals to professionals in the field.

The main down side to the field of hypnosis is that it is relatively new and has all of the difficulties that I listed above (1 to 3). As a result the facilities that can really use hypnotists are not employing them in significant numbers (yet), such as hospitals, mental health and counseling centers. So the individual hypnotist, unless he or she is already connected to such an organization must either build his or her own practice or educate existing facilities in the usefulness of hypnosis.

The up side is that the individuals who are getting into the field of hypnosis now are really the ground breakers for the future and in some very practical ways, are "getting in on the ground floor," so to speak. The people who establish themselves now will be the supervisors, consultants and trainers of the future.

Thanks again,
Cal Banyan, MA

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